#Japanese saunas: Fujimiyu (Kanagawa, Fujisawa)
last updated 2024/04/23
Fujimiyu is my current "home-sentō/sauna". I visit it at least twice a week as it is the closest sentō with sauna where I live. Located near the north exit, it is the only sentō-sauna in the vicinity of Fujisawa station. Fortunately, it does not necessarily make it overcrowded.
Type of facility: Sentō
Price: Bath 530 yen, Sauna + 200 yen (body towel included)
Tattoos: Allowed
Shampoo/Body soap: Either bring your own or buy one-time samples at the front-desk
Sauna type: Dry sauna, far infrared
Sauna temperature: 90°C
TV in Sauna: No
Cold bath (Mizuburo): 17.5°C, ultra soft water
Hot bath types: Ultrasonic bath, bubbling bath, seated bath
Dryers: One, 20 yen for 3 minutes usage
Sinks: Two
Drinkable water: No
Toilet: One western style toilet in the dressing room
Payment: Cash only
After checking out at the reception, you are given a red wrist band that you should wear as a sauna customer and big orange body towel. I would recommend to take your own body towel for washing.
Let's enter a bath. There are many showers, but for some reason in this place I can see many customers occupying seats even if they are not using them (leaving their things behind and having a bath for example). But you should not have a problem to find a place for yourself anyway. There is no stand shower.
The hot bath has about 3 types: Ultrasonic bath, bubbling bath, seated bath. It might be a bit hot if you are not used to this kind of temperature (around 42℃). The water is really soft, so it feels good for the skin.
Sauna can allocate up to 5 people. There are 2 steps, on the below one there is space for two people, and on the above 3 people can fit. This is not too much, but to be honest I never had a problem finding a place for myself. The Sauna feels neither especially hot nor not hot enough with the temperature of 90℃. There is 12 minutes sauna watch and no TV, so it is easy to relax. That is, unless there are some local people who like to talk a lot, which you can encounter rather frequently. Then you might overhear about their daily life happenings or what they think of other people.
The special thing about this sentō is undoubtedly its Mizuburo, for which water is pumped down from underground. It has a fragrance of sulfur, but this quality water is good for the body skin, similar to a bath in hot springs which contain sodium. It's located very close to sauna, so you can jump straight in (after you wash away the sweat obviously). Also, it is quite deep.
For gaikiyoku/naikiyoku, you can use a place to seat (for up to two people) on front of the Sauna's door, but I'd rather recommend to go back to the changing room and use a chair from there. There is also a big electric fan which makes you relax better.
For the price, I really like this sentō. It can be crowded at times, but it has ok sauna and really good mizuburo. Even gaikiyoku/naikiyoku feels good in the dressing room. I will be visiting it as long as I live nearby and I suggest you to do so as well.